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IDE Netbeans Eclipse and More! August 6, 2008

Posted by aslamc in C++, Programming.
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Writing code without an integrated development environment (IDE) can be a hassle, and that’s why they exist. When writing code developers usually get used a to one IDE and hence improve productivity. Weather you are already using Netbeans or Eclipse or Visual Studio checking out these other options can help improve your productivity.

I have to admit, my favorite so far is Netbeans 6.5 although it is still in under development but you can get a stable release of the previous version 6.1. This not another Netbeans vs Eclipse vs Visual Studio comparision as I have seen many of them myself. They are helpful to compare features side by side but you can find that on their websites. Here I am just showing the benifits of and IDE and how cool I find Netbeans to be.

If you don’t know what and IDE is, it is simply a compiler editor and project manager put together. Eclipse started an expandable IDE which could be expanded in features through plugins. This spread wide pretty quick and now code::blocks or netbeans and many other have similar features. Using and IDE you don’t have to write code and compile is spreatley. It can all be done from one place.

Why Netbeans? Well, everyone is biased on their preferences, however I find Netbeans to be the best one out there for the following reasons.

It has a very good looking gui and ofcourse others have them too. Netbeans is built on java so its a resource hog but over the past years its been made pretty efficient. The feature I like the most is the syntax check along with the auto complete. The common stuff like ” ” or () , {} etc… are typed and closed automatically as you type. The syntax checking shows you errors as you type as I do that a lot and having to compile it and finding out just a semi colon was missing is pretty annoying. If I didn’t already mention with the help of plugins you can use Netbeans to write code in almost any language. Give it a shot and see for yourself.

You can check out more info on Netbeans here

Easy Switch To Linux! July 19, 2008

Posted by aslamc in Linux, Operating Systems, Ubuntu, technology.
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Are you tierd of windows? Do you want to try something new? Something with no “blue screen of death” and no crashes, a cool system that just works! Try UBUNTU!

What is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is a linux distribution that is currently rated as the best distro on Distrowatch.

Why Ubuntu/Linux?

Apart from the fact that ubuntu is the best linux distro it is very stable and easy to use. Linux has been improving a lot in the past years and now it is at a point where it could be used as desktop system. Long back linux was only used as servers and still is because of its stability and security. It is very secure and stable. A lot of you have experienced whats called the “blue screen of death” when your computer just goes blue and restarts. You can find out more about it here. If you haven’t already you might sometime in the future. It doesn’t mean you will but you might. It occurs when a hardware or software error occurs and to prevent further damage it gives you a blue screen and restarts your computer. This is very annoying and happens a lot on Microsoft Windows OS such as Vista. Why not use something that is easier to use, more stable, and more secure. What more can you ask for in an operating system.

A lot of people complain that it is not as easy to use as it is said. Look again when these were posted. Years ago! Now, linux systems are very useable and give a very good performace. One of the biggest issues people run into is installing programs. It has now become easier than ever and so easy you that you can’t complain. If you want to find out more on how to easily install applications on linux click here. Applications are also called packages in linux systems.

The reason I suggested ubuntu is because it is designed for new comers to easily get used to. But don’t get fooled by the ease. It is just as powerful as the any other distribution such as Novel SUSE or Redhat.

How Do I Get Started With Ubuntu?

First you need to go download a copy of the OS which is completely free because it is an open source distro and you can customize it as much as you want. To download a copy click on the following link. Download Now!
 Ubuntu gives you the option of downloading a Live CD or a text based install. Using the live cd you can just pop it in your drive and try it out without even installing. To install just click on the install icon on the desktop. A text based install is where you don’t get to try out the OS but it is used to only install the OS. Just follow the simple steps and you will have a running Ubuntu Desktop in no time!

Why is it not very visually appealing?

Ubuntu is based on a human theme and so brown is its theme. You will be seeing different themes on the next version. The current version is 8.04 codenamed Hardy Heron. This is where you options get very wide. Ubuntu is so customizable you can make it look exactly like you want. Finally you get to feel a desktop of your own! You can download more themes at art.gnome.org or www.gnome-look.org. I forgot to mention there are two desktop enviornments. KDE and Gnome. You can also have both but only use one at a time. Click here to learn more about desktop environment. There are a lot more desktop managers but gnome and kde are the most widely used ones.

Once you are done installing and setting it up with your favorite themes you can install more applications. Your desktop is then finally ready for everyday use. Believe me you are going to have an amazing experience with it. If you want to add more eye candy with desktop effects you can enable compiz which comes installed by default on ubuntu. You think Mac OSX looks cool, try compiz. There are plugins you can install to get more effects.

Enjoy your Ubuntu installs!

Cheers,

Aslam

My Guiness World Record Cert From Mozilla July 19, 2008

Posted by aslamc in Web Browser, technology.
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Firefox made the record for the most number of downloads in a day. On June 17th when firefox 3 was released, their servers got so many download requests that they even had a outage, but they were up and running within a matter of hours and had 8.5 million downloads within 24 hours… Firefox is giving out certificates for those who downloaded firefox that day and were part of the world record. If you were one of those who downloaded firefox 3 on that day go ahead and get your cert from here.


Here’s mine


Package install made even easier on debian based systems! July 19, 2008

Posted by aslamc in Linux, technology.
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Linux has been growing a lot withing the past years. This year is supposed to be a big growth of linux users around the world.

We saw a lot of improvements already and more to come. A very good move was bestbuy selling ubuntu and giving support at $60 for 60 days. Some people don’t like this move too much because they wonder why a free open-source OS is being sold for $20 dollars. Isn’t it supposed to be free? Yes, but I don’t mind them selling it for $20 and $60 for 2 months support for newbies who can’t even get through the first steps. For those who are a little more advanced can download it for free and get the OS and other applications for free. If they don’t mind troubleshooting they can get workarounds and do it themselves and its all free. Others came up with the question that selling it for only $20 dollars can cheapen the product. Compared to the other commercial linux distributions such as novell’s SLES and other like Xandros are around $70. It is a little cheap but if they understand that all linux are pretty much the same with minor differences they might even understand how good ubuntu is. Not mention, it is rated as the best linux distribution on DistroWatch. This move can bring good news and a lot of people might get into it but we’ll have to wait and watch.

Package Management is one of the biggest issues/differences between distros and more and better ways keep emerging. Opensuse 11 improved their package mangement a lot. I should say it has been very well improved and very close to the ease of debia system. On the other hand debian package management keeps getting easier. Synaptic, apt-get are two native ways on ubuntu. www.getdeb.net has been around for a while where users can download the software package and just install it without going through synaptic or anything else.
Now even a better and easier way exists. www.tuxsoftware.com has the very best software packages and a very petty looking site. Looks are a very big deal and attracts a lot of people. It looks better than any other software site I have seen. It also easily accesible. The best feature, however, is that they have a package manager their own which makes it even easier than installing windows apps. What more can you ask for? All you have to do is either click on the link to install with their package manager or integrated apt manager. It works like a charm. 1 click and it downloads and installs. Can it get any easier?

A lot of questoins are out there if linux needs a new pakcage management like this I’d say no. We already have the best and at this point I can’t think of it being any easier. What can be easier than 1-click install and no pressing next and all those extra buttons and you have your software installed.

visit www.tuxsoftware.com and then you tell me if you can possibly have any complains.

Have a good weekend fellas!

Cheers,

Aslam

First post with WP! July 18, 2008

Posted by aslamc in Uncategorized.
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This is my first blog here and I had to put something on so I decided to just share my experience how I got here.

I am no advanced blogger and no journalist either. I honestly don’t know why I decided to start blogging. I am a computer science major and like everyone out there I get stuck. It’s no surprise that my next step is opening firefox or and heading to google. I do find my answers there, but a lot of them are either blogs or forums. I already work with forums quite a bit, but like half the stuff I find is on blogs. So I thought starting up my own blog where I can post tech how-to’s or just my opinions on devices and maybe I’ ll even post about other stuff.

The journey is about to begin. New interesting posts with a lot of information we both can benefit from. I should say, I am not a fan of writing, but keeping up with a blog might get me better at it. Also, it will keep all my info in one place and its a good way of better understanding things. Writing a book, well not exactly, let me rephrase that… It would be cool to have a book by me. Maybe in couple decades… We’ll see about that!

Keep an eye around for new interesting blogs!